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The study estimates the relative importance of specific types of traumas experienced in the community in terms of their prevalence and risk of leading to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A representative sample of 2181 persons in the Detroit area aged 18 to 45 years were interviewed by telephone to assess the lifetime history of traumatic events and PTSD, according toDSM-IV. Posttraumatic stress disorder was assessed with respect to a randomly selected trauma from the list of traumas reported by each respondent, using a modified version of the Diagnostic Interview Schedule, Version IV, and the World Health Organization Composite International Diagnostic Interview.

The conditional risk of PTSD following exposure to trauma was 9.2%. The highest risk of PTSD was associated with assaultive violence (20.9%). The trauma most often reported as the precipitating event among …